In the absence of President, Tony Perrotta, Vice President Brian Higgins opened the meeting promptly at 8:00 PM.

Jeff Sheats welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming.

Associate members were asked to report on new items and special deals they had to offer. Many took advantage of the opportunity.

In the absence of Secretary Megan Jones, Carl Sparacio read the minutes of the last meeting. The minutes were accepted as read and approved.

Treasurer, Tom Lade, read the Treasurer's Report. He reported a balance of $10,826.67 in the treasury - $2300.00 of which was seed money for Demo Day that would be passed on to the next host organization.

Joe Mihalko, Legislative Chairman, did not bring up Monica Lewinsky but recommended that members advise their congressmen how they felt about the issue. He reported that the bill on product liability in congress has been tabled in committee and noted, too, that the I.R.S. and OSHA are both being restructured to make them kinder and gentler. Joe also said that now is the time to push our agenda with legislators - before elections.

Education Chairman, Howard Heller, said that he will have a rep. from Bell Atlantic available for training regarding using the telephone properly as a business tool.

Social Chairman, John Futcher, announced that our annual Holiday Dinner will be held on January 24th at the Woodbridge Hilton. The Nite at the Races is scheduled for April 14th and will be in the Pegasus.

Associate Chairman, Roy Peragallo, Thanked the vendors for their support of our association.

Under old business it was noted that our Web Site was up and running and an application fee would be required for a bigger Web presence. We need more vendors to post their logos.

Disappointment was expressed regarding Demo Day. VP Brian Higgins, kept discussion to a minimum by noting that "attendance was not good" and there was a strong possibility that it will be moved further away next year. He noted, too, that the matter will be covered at the next Board meeting.

Programs:

Brian Higgins of Inter/National Insurance spoke on General Liability Claim. He reported that the 10 top claims (accounting for 72% of money paid out) were, in order: Lifts & Hoists, Traffic, Scaffolding, Saws (excluding chain saws,) Ladders, Lawn & Garden, Compressed Gas, amusement devices, sewer augers, and fork lifts.

Brian also brought up the recent fire suffered at Miller's Rental and emphasized the danger of gasoline and smoking.

Brian James of Sanders Saw spoke on Diamond Blade Safety and his company's concern regarding the problem. He passed lists of do's and don'ts to those in attendance.

Mike Lacey of Pressure Washers demonstrated how to properly take apart and reassemble pressure washers to avoid injury. He noted that water through a pressure washer will give a more severe cut than a knife and gave safety tips on their use.

The membership retired to the yard where Bob Woods of New Jersey Bobcat gave a live demonstration on how to trailer heavy equipment.

The next meeting will be held at Curly Boelhouwer's warehouse and will feature roundtable discussions on a variety of subjects.

John Capece won $80 on the 50/50

Door prizes were drawn for - T-shirts donated by Bob Woods, a Fault Protection Harness, and a collared shirt from Sanders Saws

Brian thanked David Hinck in absentia for putting together a fine program.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40

Respectfully submitted,

Carl Sparacio

Minutes taken at a meeting are, of necessity, rather bland. A reader cannot get the sense of how good (or bad) a meeting was from the minutes. This meeting was exceptional and, because it was, deserves a little more than the official report.

First off, Jeff and Vern were splendid hosts - they anticipated every need. The refreshments available were more than anyone should expect. The area laid out for the meeting made it possible for the indoor portion to flow easily to the outdoor portion.

V.P. Brian Higgins runs a tight meeting - not a lot of extemporaneous talking and everything was kept right on track. This is especially important when you have four different programs to make time for.

You never know it from the minutes, but the programs were all exceptional - informative and entertaining. the handouts supplied to the members were useful - not just advertisements. No one program was so lengthy as to be boring.

An important highlight was the socializing, both before and after the meeting. Members swapped war stories and gave each other hints for solving problems. Some of the jokes were good too. Everyone seemed to have a good time and what probably contributed to this more than anything else was the turnout. Over 50 strong - the best turnout we've had in a long time.